Duck Gravy

Wondering what to do with the drippings from your roast duck? Make duck gravy as the perfect compliment!

This duck gravy is the easiest side you'll make for the holidays.
This duck gravy is the easiest side you’ll make for the holidays.

Duck Gravy Ingredients

Making this quintessential side for any a roasted duck is easy and only required a couple on ingredients.

  • Drippings: Take the duck out of the pan and what you will have left in the pan is the drippings from the bird. If there are bits that aren’t as browned as you would like, add the pan back to the oven and let the drippings brown for a little longer.
  • Flour: You can use flour or cornstarch for this recipe. I prefer flour since I find it easier, but if you want to make a gluten-free gravy, you can use cornstarch instead of flour.
  • Water or Stock: You will need either water or a poultry stock- chicken, turkey or duck stock if you can find it. This is how you will get your gravy to the consistency and thickness you are looking for.

How to Make Gravy

Making gravy is so easy, you’ll never buy the canned store-bought stuff again.

Sprinkle flour to your pan drippings and whisk together quickly.
Sprinkle flour to your pan drippings and whisk together quickly.

Once you have your roasted duck, turkey or chicken cooked to its desired doneness, remove from the pan and let rest on a wooden board and cover with foil. This gravy method will also work for beef or pork, as long as you have drippings from something that was roasted in the oven. You would even make a vegan tofu gravy if you wanted to!

While your meat is resting, turn your attention to the pan with all the leftover drippings and juices in it. While many people would just throw this away, you can make a delicious gravy with just one more ingredient.

If there is excess water or juice in the pan, or the drippings are not as browned as you’d like, put the pan back into the oven and allow the juice or water to evaporate and the drippings to brown further.

Once out of the oven, scrape the browned bits up off the pan and put the pan directly over a burner on the stove. Sprinkle flour onto the dripping and whisk the drippings and flour together. Continue whisking and adding flour onto the drippings. Add in the water after you’ve added in the flour and continue whisking. Taste and add salt.

Add in water and whisk after adding in the flour to your pan drippings to make a flavorful gravy.
Add in water and whisk after adding in the flour to your pan drippings to make a flavorful gravy.

How to Thicken Gravy

If your gravy is not thick enough – or if it’s too thick – it’s easy to adjust the consistency.

Add in a flour slurry (a mixture of cold water and flour) to your gravy and whisk to thicken your gravy.

If you have over-reduced your gravy and would like to make it less thick, add in some cold water and whisk.

When the gravy reaches the desired consistency, take it off heat. Remove it from the pan and pour into a gravy boat or another serving vessel.

Duck Gravy

5 from 2 votes
Recipe by Sarah Course: SidesDifficulty: Easy
Servings

8

servings
Prep time

5

minutes
Cooking time

10

minutes
Calories

150

kcal

Ingredients

  • 1/4 cup duck drippings, browned and scrapped off the pan

  • 1/4 cup cornstarch or flour

  • 3 cups water or stock

Directions

  • Take pan drippings and evaluate for any excess juice or water-iness or greasiness that won’t go well into the gravy. If you see this, roast the drippings to further render down the fat and evaporate any water.
  • Scrape drippings off of pan so they are loose and place pan directly onto stove or add the pan drippings to a medium saucepan.
  • Sprinkle flour onto the drippings and then vigorously whisk the flour into the pan drippings so that the flour is incorporated into the drippings. This is easier to do on the pan, but can be done in a saucepan.
  • Add in your stock or water to the pan, while continuing to whisk. Allow the gravy to reduce and thicken. Taste and add salt as needed. Remove from heat when it is at desired thickness.

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